managing stress

The nature of academic life means that even though we have funding to do this very interesting and important project (and indeed I am currently managing or involved in several interesting and important projects), there is always pressure to apply for more.

As the leader of the Responsible and Sustainable Technoscience Co-laborative (RootS) at GenØk, I have particular responsibility to bring in new projects, new positions and more external funding. Of course, this means that instead of using all my time to do the research on the projects I already have, I am also expected to dedicate time to writing new grant applications – a very time consuming task with no guarantee of reward!

Last week, together with some of my colleagues in the RootS Co-Lab, we submitted two grant applications. One was to investigate how biotechnologies conceptualise, communicate and change human/nature relations. The other was about how we may adapt higher education practices so that biotechnologists develop the competencies they need to work in responsible and sustainable ways.

To help work on these applications, we had a small grant writing retreat here in Tromsø together with a handful of invited international experts (on topics such as environmental ethics, science communication, and the engineering of life). Below you see us walking to a cafe for lunch (minus Amaranta who is our photographer) – and yes, as you can see, winter has arrived in the arctic!

These days working on the grant applications were very intense and on average I think I slept about 3 hours a night! I was extremely proud that when the deadline arrived, we were actually able to submit 2 complete, clear, concrete and well written applications. This was quite a feat!

However, I know that we are competing with many other applications (over 100 for one call and over 60 for the other) and that it will only take one reviewer who does not like or understand the idea and our chances of getting funding will be lost. This is the nature of game. Is it fair? Is it efficient? I’m not sure. What I know though is that writing new applications is extremely demanding and it is a task that comes on top of an already packed program of responsibilities and things that need to be done.

At the moment, academic life feels like running on a treadmill that someone keeps increasing the pace on. And scarily, there is no end time for this workout. The only option is to keep running or be thrown off. You might think that you will reach certain milestones (such as getting a new grant awarded or a permanent position) and then the pace will start to cool down, but in fact, it is the opposite. If I get a new grant for example, I will have another project to manage, new research team members to support and new outcomes to deliver. The pace will just increase. Of course, if I dont get any new grants awarded, then the pace still increases – the pressure to write more applications, to get more publications, to recruit more students etc just amplifies. And I am in a situtation where I do not have a large teaching load. For those in university positions trying to balance research and teaching responsibilities, the situation may be even worse.

In today’s modern world, it often seems like everyone I talk to is stressed. Everyone is busy. Everyone suffers from a feeling of overwhelm.

I enjoy my work as a researcher. I like leading a team of passionate, bright, motivated minds. But sometimes, I wonder how long I can keep running on the treadmill before my body gives out? How long I can subject myself to intense relentless pressure before collapsing?

It is therefore clear to me that practices and time for self-care are absolutely crucial to survive academic life. Doing yoga and meditation every morning, taking time to exercise and be in nature, protecting free time in the evenings and on the weekends, having holidays and breaks on the horizon – all of these are crucial for me to be a productive researcher and effective leader.

Am I alone in this or do you also suffer from stress and sense of feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things you have to do? If so, what are your management strategies? Maybe we can help each other!